It is known in the prior art related to silage distributors to utilize a spreader plate, usually having depending, diverging vanes on its underside, which is hinged to a gooseneck fill tube. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,834,768 and 3,321,252 disclose this general construction. Conventionally, the free end of the spreader plate has hinged to it a curved or arcuate-in-profile deflector plate. At selected intervals, during a silo filling cycle, the deflector plate is in a raised position and in a lowered position the remainder of the silo filling operation. Since the curved deflector plate, in lowered position, directly intersects the flow of silage off the tip of the spreader plate, it is subjected to the substantial kinetic energy of the moving silage and a considerable force tending to pivot the deflector plate upward into its raised position is exerted on the plate. The tendency, modernly, to use higher capacity blowers to propel the silage accentuates this undesired lifting of the deflector plate. Biasing springs opposing this lifting action have been only partially successful because of the wide variation in specific gravity of the materials which the silo filling operation must accomodate. Since the deflector plate must be intentionally moved to its raised position during a portion of the fill cycle, this actuation being preferrably performed at a remote location (at the base of the silo), a simple manual locking of the deflector plate in lowered position will not solve the problem.
The concept of the present invention envisages a positive stop abutment for an element moved rectilinearly when the deflector plate is subjected to the kinetic energy of the moving silage, thereby preventing the plate from moving to raised position under this impetus, the element being angularly moved to clear the stop abutment when the deflector plate is moved to raised position by means of a flexible cable extending to the silo base. Thus, the required manual, remote raising of the deflector plate is unimpeded but a positive stop is provided which prevents the flow of silage, impinging on the deflector plate, from raising the plate.